OTTAWA, Kan. — For the third time this season, the Bulldogs came out on top against a ranked foe as they secured a huge mid-week victory over the Ottawa Braves on Tuesday (Mar. 11), 13-12.
Ottawa was able to strike the first blow of the contest thanks to a two run RBI single in the bottom half of the first to give them a quick 2-0 lead. The Bulldogs were able to quickly cut the lead down to just one run thanks to a sacrifice fly by
Braden Schiffner scored
Colin Evers in the top of the second inning. Things went quiet for a couple of innings after that, but the Bulldogs started a huge run in the top of the fourth inning.
Ky'rell Taylor got it started for MC with an RBI single to tie the game and was followed up by a big two run RBI single from Schiffner gave MC a 4-2 lead. The lead continued to grow as Colt-Sussex Uphold secured a two run RBI single and
Dawson Walters and
Marcus Patton followed him up with a pair of RBI singles to make it a 8-2 lead for MC. The lead grew to 9-2 thanks to a
Jace Essig RBI double before Ottawa finally countered back with a solo homerun. Walters grew the lead back out with a solo homerun of his own in the top half of the sixth inning, but the Braves were far from out of it.
A pair of miscues by MC in the bottom half of the sixth and seventh innings drew the Braves closer, making it a 10-5 lead for the Bulldogs heading into the final two frames. The comeback was fully on for Ottawa in the bottom of the eighth inning as a RBI triple, a wild pitch, and a RBI single made it just a two run game heading into the ninth inning. The Bulldogs pushed it back to a five run lead in the top of the ninth as
Peyton Starr forced a walk with the bases loaded and Sussex-Uphold bagged a two run RBI single to make it 13-8.
The Braves had one last run in them, scoring four of the needed five runs in the bottom half of the final inning. That fifth and final run never came as Koen Gehring held the Braves at bay and secured the win for MC.
The Bulldogs remain on the road as they kick off a three game series against the York University Panthers with a double header on Saturday, March 15. First pitch of game one is set for 12:00 p.m.
